Inadmissible Evidence

Definition

Theater

A play by John Osborne, first performed in 1964 atthe Royal Court Theatre in London. Nicol Williamson created the characterof Bill Maitland, one of the modern theater's most testing roles.The character has a number of long monologues about estrangement andisolation, both personal and professional.

The plot concerns the solicitor Bill Maitland who, despiteleaving school at 15, has risen to the top of his legal practice.Now almost 40, he is a bitter alcoholic whose relationships with hiswife, his teenage daughter, and his mistress, are all failing. Professionally,he is ostracized by his colleagues for malpractice. His secretaryand former mistress walks out, and Maitland pursues another secretary,who also rejects him. Nevertheless, he is sustained throughout hisordeal by the compassion he continues to feel for his clients.